The printing means of an inkjet printer is usually as follows: an ink cartridge used for receiving ink provides an ink source and ink is conveyed to a printhead via a corresponding ink flow channel and driven by a print signal to be ejected to a recording medium such as a piece of paper via a nozzle on the printhead, so as to complete the recording of characters or graphs.
There are two types of ink cartridges for inkjet printers according to the arrangement relationship between the printheads and the ink cartridges: one is integrated type ink cartridges and the other is split type ink cartridges. A printhead of an integrated type ink cartridge is integrated into a whole with an ink storage cavity and arranged on an ink outlet of the ink cartridge. A printhead of a split type ink cartridge is mutually separated from an ink storage cavity which only receives ink and arranged on a cartridge unit of an inkjet printer. As the printheads of the integrated type ink cartridges are easy to damage and relatively expensive, more and more users select the split type ink cartridges.
There is a common split type ink cartridge on the market currently. The structure of the split type ink cartridge is as follows: the ink cartridge comprises a negative-pressure cavity and an ink cavity, wherein the two cavities are connected with each other via a communicating opening; a sponge used for generating a capillary force to hold ink and an ink outlet connected with an ink supply needle of a printer are formed inside the negative-pressure cavity; and an ink injection opening is formed inside the ink cavity. Obviously, as the split type ink cartridge is directly thrown away after the ink is out, most components of the split type ink cartridge, such as plastics and membranes, cannot be naturally degraded, the resource waste and environmental pollution tend to be caused. Therefore, the preferred means is for the ink cartridge of which the ink is out to be subjected to ink refilling and be reutilized.
The Chinese patent CN200910109293.6 provides a negative-pressure ink cartridge refilling device, which comprises an ink container, an ink supply pipe, a suction channel and an aspirator, wherein the ink container is used for storing ink for refilling; the ink supply pipe is used for conveying the ink to an ink cartridge to be refilled; the suction channel and the aspirator are disposed above the ink container; and the suction channel is directly connected with the ink container and connected with the aspirator to suck air in the ink container.
The process of utilizing the negative-pressure ink cartridge refilling device to refill the split type ink cartridge mentioned above is as follows: firstly, the ink cartridge to be refilled is fixed on the refilling device; herein, an ink outlet of the ink cartridge is connected with the ink supply pipe, and a closed space is formed between the ink container and the ink cartridge; secondly, the aspirator is connected with the suction channel to suck air in the ink container and the ink cartridge; and thirdly, the aspirator is loosened, and herein, the ink cartridge automatically absorbs the ink in the ink container due to the gas-pressure balance, namely the ink enters into the negative-pressure cavity via the ink supply pipe and enters into the ink cavity via the communicating opening.
During the conveying of the ink cartridge refilling device, the pressure in the ink container may be raised due to the variation of environmental factors such as temperature rise. As an ink inlet end of the ink supply pipe is always immersed into the ink, the ink may enter into the ink supply pipe under the pressure. At that moment, if a sealing component of the ink supply pipe is opened by a user, the ink in the ink supply pipe may splash out, and then the environment may be polluted and hands and clothes of the user may be dirtied.
Moreover, after the ink cartridge is refilled, due to the barrier effect of the ink in the ink supply pipe, there is almost no negative pressure in the ink cartridge. Therefore, when the ink cartridge is removed, the sponge of the negative-pressure cavity is in the saturated state, and then the phenomenon of ink drop tends to occur.